Relentless
by Requested-Name-Taken
Summary: Before Hollywood Arts, Tori and Cat actually met as kids. They were neighbors, best friends, and inseparable. For two years at least, before Cat moved. A decade has passed and they've both changed drastically and don't recognize each other. It isn't until Tori introduces herself does Cat realize who she is—but for some reason Cat doesn't want Tori to remember her. AU. Cori.
1. Meeting

**Full Summary:** Before Hollywood Arts, Tori and Cat actually met as kids. They were neighbors, best friends, and inseparable. For two years at least. But when they are both seven Cat's mother's job forces her family to relocate. They move to Britain and the two friends lose contact. Six years later, circumstances causes Cat to move back to California to live with her Nona. Around the same time she is diagnosed with mental illness and decides to dye her hair. A decade has passed the two friends finally bump into each other at Hollywood Arts High School. They've both changed drastically and don't recognize each other. It isn't until Tori introduces herself does Cat realize who she is. But for some reason Cat doesn't want Tori to remember her. Unfortunately for Cat, Tori, the ever persistent one, keeps trying to place where she's seen Cat before. AU. Cori.

**A/N: **Did I mention that this is my first fic? Well... Guess what? This is my first fic. Enjoy! Or despise...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Victorious_ or any of its characters. I hope you got that—'cause this is the only time I'll be saying that in this story. Ciao.

**.:.:.:.**

_Twelve Years Ago_

**.:.:.:.**

_Meeting_

"Tori–"

"No."

"_Victoria–_"

"No."

At the tender age of five, Victoria Vega was just like every other upset kid her age: stubborn, mad, and pouty. She sat in her unbuckled booster seat with her eyebrows furrowed deeply, bottom lip jutted out, and arms crossed as tightly as she could over her chest. She ignored her mother, who was bent over, one hand on the opened door the other on the roof of the car, and desperately trying to talk some sense into her.

"Please get out of the car."

"_No!_" Tori exclaimed, slamming her small fists repeatedly on her thighs. "I wanna go back home!"

Holly Vega lovingly ran a hand over her pouting daughter's hair. "This _is_ home, sweetie. This is our new home."

"I don' like it."

"You haven't even seen it yet, honey."

"I don' have to. I don' like it."

Mrs. Vega sighed, it was time to try a new tactic. "Why don't you like it?"

Tori frowned, contemplating which answer in her long list would most likely convince her parents to move back to their old house. "My friends'z all gone."

"Oh Tori, sweetie, you'll make new friends. I promise." Mrs. Vega's head shot up as she heard loud giggles. She smiled, watching as her oldest daughter, Trina, climbed onto her husband's back. "You don't see Trina getting all upset."

"Dat's 'cause Trinas _gots_ no friends! No one likes Trina."

"Victoria Vega! You do not talk about your sister like that. You–" Her words were suddenly cut off as the door opposite her and her daughter opened.

Tori turned her head and watched as a girl about her age, wearing a bright orange blouse and green shorts, crawled into the car. The girl leaned forward on her knees, facing Tori and her mom, and grabbed on to the side of Tori's car seat. She had lightly tanned skin and dark brown hair, wild curls framing her face, and large equally brown eyes. They twinkled as a wide smile formed on the girl's face.

"Hiya! I'm–"

"_Caterina!_"

The twinkling brown eyes widened. "Uh-oh."

A woman who looked remarkably like the young girl, except with straight hair, quickly reached in and extracted her daughter from the car. She frowned as she held her daughter against her hip and shook a finger at her. "What did I _just_ tell you, Caterina?"

Caterina Valentine quickly looked at her mother with what she hoped was an innocent expression. "I forgots, Mama."

"You forgot?" A vigorous nod was her answer. "But you promised me you wouldn't forget."

"I'm sowwy, Mama." Cat's lower lip trembled and wide brown eyes started to fill with tears. "I cou'ent help it."

"I know, sweetie, I know." She kissed her daughter's forehead before setting her back down on her feet. "Now let's go make some new friends, okay?"

"'Kay 'kay." With a sniffle, Cat rubbed her tears away and trailed behind her mother as they walked around the back of the car.

"Hello, I'm Catherine Valentine," Cat's mother introduced herself, holding out her hand. A tug to the back of her shirt caused a small smile to pull at her lips. "And this suddenly shy girl is my daughter Caterina. We live right across the street."

Tori's mother smiled as she shook the offered hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Holly Vega." She gestured toward Tori, who still refused to leave her perch on her booster seat. "And this _stubborn_ little girl is my daughter Tori."

Cat hid behind her mother, too upset and embarrassed with being chastised in front of their new neighbors to say anything. She peeked an eye out to scrutinize the other girl. Tori was pretty. She was tan, tanner than Cat was, and she'd lived in sunny California her whole five years of life. Tori's hair and eyes were a dark shade of brown, but not nearly as dark as Cat's. She wore black flip-flops, pale blue jeans, along with a dark red tank top.

"Hey!" Cat exclaimed, jumping out from behind her hiding spot to point at Tori. "Dat's my favorite color!" Her shyness disappeared and a bright smile returned full force. "It's red! Ma—Magen... Magen..."

"Magenta red," her mother supplied.

"Yeah! My favorite color!" Mrs. Valentine smiled, she'd always admired how resilient her daughter was. "It's so pretty. _You're_ so pretty."

"Th-Thanks." Tori blushed, she wasn't called 'pretty' often. She wanted to tell Cat that she was pretty too, but was too shy to do so.

"Why don't you get out of the car, Tori?" Mrs. Vega encouraged. "You can play with Caterina if you do." She made eye contact with Catherine, silently questioning whether it was all right. She smiled when she received a nod of approval. "I did promise you'd make new friends, right?"

Tori remained in her seat. She didn't want 'new' friends, she wanted the ones she left behind! Cat gazed at her, a hopeful look in her large twinkling eyes and slightly crooked smile. Maybe making new friends wouldn't be so bad. At least not with this girl who called her _pretty_. Besides, she _was_ a bit tired of sitting in the car, she'd much rather be playing with her toys.

"Righ'." Tori reached for her mom, slightly annoyed that she was still too small to be able get down from the car by herself. As she was placed beside Cat she noticed two things. One, Cat was so _much_ more prettier up close. And two, Cat was taller than her by almost four inches. Tori frowned, she didn't like being smaller than her new friend.

"Go ask your daddy to bring your box of toys to your new room, okay, sweetie?" her mother said, snapping her out of her musing. "Then you and Caterina can play."

"C'mon, Tori!" Cat exclaimed. "We can play dress up! Do you have any dress up clothes? 'Cause if you don' I got lots at my place!" She grabbed the shorter girl's hand and dragged her toward the house. "We're gon' be the _bestest_ of friends! I just knowz it!"

Tori smiled almost as big as Cat. Her new friend's excitement was contagious, and she was starting to feel it from head to toe.

"Yeah! I gots lots of dress ups!"

With that, the two girls left their moms behind to talk, and all but ran inside. Holding hands the entire way.

**.:.:.:.**

**A/N:** Please review!

Don't worry I won't get offended. I mean, all I would do is find a dark corner, lay on my side, curl up in a ball, and try not to die. Yeah, like, no biggy.


	2. Departure

**A/N:** Thank you guys so VERY much for all your reviews!

**.:.:.:.**

_Ten Years Ago_

**.:.:.:.**

_Departure_

"Cater–"

"No."

"_Caterina_, plea–"

"No."

Caterina Valentine was _not_ a baby. She was a big girl. She was almost seven and a half years old! But at the moment she _didn'_t feel like a big girl. She felt like a—like a _baby_. Sobs were wracking her entire body, causing her to shake as she wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling her knees to her chest as tightly as she could. It wasn't her fault though. It was her mother's fault. Her mother, who at this moment, was trying to cajole her into doing things she didn't want to.

"Please let me in, sweetie."

"_No!_" Cat exclaimed, slapping her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out her mother's voice. "Y-you c-can't make me g-go!"

Catherine Valentine sat on the outside of her daughter's bedroom. She placed a hand on the locked door, wishing with all her might she could just reach through and stroke her daughter's hair. "Caterina? I love you, baby girl."

"No you d-don't!"

"That's not true, honey." Hearing the anguish in the young voice made her heart clench. "I love you with everything in me."

"You're m-making us leave! You don't love me!"

Mrs. Valentine closed her eyes, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Baby girl, please, please, _please_ open the door. I need to hold you."

Cat's lower lip trembled. She was still very much upset with her mother, but at the same time Cat really wanted to be surrounded by the arms that had comforted her since she was a just baby. A few seconds passed, then she reached up and unlocked the door, sliding over out of the way. "It's unlocked."

Cat watched as the door slowly opened, revealing the woman she hated but needed the most at the moment. Mrs. Valentine crawled into Cat's room, closing the door with a small kick, before sitting Indian style in front of her daughter, arms outstretched. Cat didn't even hesitate before climbing into her mother's lap, sniffing as loving arms enveloped her, and a sleeve covered hand wiped at her tears and nose.

"I'm so sorry, honey," her mom said, placing a light kiss to the top of her head. "I know you'll miss Tori very much."

"She's the only friend I have!" Cat clutched her chest, gasping as it felt harder to breathe. "Mama!" she gasped. "I think I'm having a heart attack!"

"You're not, sweetie, I promise you," Mrs. Valentine whispered into her daughter's hair. "Your heart just feels heavy from all the crying."

"I think it's breaking, Mama, I really do."

"It'll get better. You'll see, it'll g–" Her words were suddenly cut off as the bedroom door flew open.

"Hiya! Your dad let me in. He said–" Tori's brown eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her. "Rina, what's wrong?!"

Cat looked over her mom's shoulder, catching her best friend's gaze. "I'm—I'm moving."

**.:.:.:.**

_Three Weeks Later_

**.:.:.:.**

Tori and Cat clung onto each other in the airport waiting area, knowing they had minutes, if not less, left together. It didn't take a lot, in fact, barely any, convincing to allow Tori to see her best friend off.

"We'll stay in contact, right?" Tori whispered, too afraid her voice would crack if she spoke any louder. "We'll call and email and write and stuff, right?"

"Yeah." Cat nodded her head, dark brown curls bouncing as she did so, and intertwined their fingers together. "Everyday."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

They sat in silence, listening to everything going on around them. Travelers bustling about. Their moms conversing. Cat's brother's heavy breaths as he hid behind his dad.

There was nothing left to say. Nothing left to do except wait.

They just say there holding hands. Waiting for the inevitable.

_Waiting._

Just wait–

"Flight number BAW4359 is now boarding." _No no no no no!_ "Flight number BAW4359 is now boarding." _It's too soon!_

"Come on, kiddo, it's time to go," Cat's dad said, picking up his daughter, knowing without a doubt she'd not board the plane otherwise.

"No, wait! I'm not ready!" But her father ignored her pleas and started following his wife and son toward the gate.

Cat stretched her arm as far as she could over her fathers shoulder, wanting to keep holding Tori's hand for as long as possible.

Tori desperately wanted to follow Cat and her family onto the plane, but her mother's grip on her shoulder prevented her from doing so.

And with every step Mr. Valentine took, the distance between them grew. It was getting harder and harder.

They were only hanging on with their fingertips now.

"Don't let go."

_Never._

One more step.

And the connection was broken.

**.:.:.:.**

**A/N:** Did you feel a sense of reversed déjà vu reading it?

Did you also notice how Tori called Cat Rina? _Weeeell_, there's a reason for that. This chapter was actually suppose to take place about a months after they met, with Tory trying to create a nickname for Cat because she thought Caterina was way too long and Cat didn't want to be called Cat. But as I was writing the chapter I realized that I couldn't write it without making the story twice as long as I planned, because I would want to include everything that happens during their two years of friendship. That's when it hit me! Right across the face.

I should write a "prequel" to this story. A story that just consists of the adventures Cat and Tori have before Cat's departure. What do you think?

One more thing. Who do you think said, "Don't let go."?

Please review!


	3. Soul

**A/N: **The form of tenses alternate in this chapter. I did it for a reason. Present tense is what's happening in the here and now. Past tense is Cat reflecting over the past. Uh, like, duh.

**.:.:.:.**

_Six Years Post 'Departure'_

**.:.:.:.**

_Soul_

_**.: Cat :.**_

I stand in front of the bathroom mirror and reach out to wipe off the fog accumulated from my recent shower. There's a timer on the sink, ticking down, waiting for the moment it was set to ring. Pulling my hand back, I place it on my side and raise my eyes to look into the mirror. I don't recognize the girl staring back at me. She's too thin, too pale, and doesn't seem to be all there. The look in her eyes scares me. Because there isn't one. They're unfocused. Looking, but not seeing.

_God what happened to her?_ It's too hard for me to accept that the girl is me. She looks too dead. A body with no soul.

I remember a time when her eyes use to twinkle. They use to smile, so full of life. When did the happiness in them die?

_Two and a half weeks ago_, I think. _In the middle of May..._

**.:.:.:.**

"Sis, wake up. Please." Words were filtering at the edge of my consciousnesses and I felt a hand frantically shake my shoulder.

"What is it?" I mumbled, trapped between rousing and drifting back to sleep.

"C'mon! Wake up! _Ple-ase!_" My brother's panic filled voice cracked and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but kept my eyes tightly shut. It was in the middle of the night for Pete's sake! What could he possibly need that couldn't wait until morn—"There's a fire!"

My eyes snapped open. "What?" I sat up and brushed my curls out of my face, still somewhat half-asleep. _What does he mean there's a fire?_

"It was thundering. I woke up and there was smoke," he panicked. "The lights weren't working so I grabbed a flashlight and ran in here as fast as I could."

"Oh, God." A pungent smell finally registered in my brain and I snatched the flashlight and pointed it at the ceiling. A black cloud was gradually forming. "Oh God!" I cried, throwing off the covers and practically falling out of bed. "Why didn't the fire alarms go off?!"

"I don't know!"

"Oh God oh God oh God!" My thoughts were going haywire and I could feel a wave of hysteria start to set in. The fear in my little brother's eyes made me stop and force myself to calm down. It was my job as the big sister to keep him safe. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"S-still downstairs asleep, I think. I c-came to your room first."

"Well we have wake them!" I ran out of my bedroom, making sure my brother was trailing close behind me, and sprinted down the hallway.

My family lived in a fairly large three story house. The third floor contained my bedroom, my brother's bedroom, a shared bathroom, and a small library that we never used. The second floor had another bathroom, our parents' bedroom, and our dad's study. A third bathroom, living room, den, dining room, and a kitchen that led to an enclosed patio in the backyard resided on the first floor. The basement held nothing but storage.

We reached the stairs and descended them as fast as we could. Our parents' bedroom was the second door on the right and we quickly bolted for it, not noticing how the floor beneath our bare feet was unusually warm. I saw that a light was emanating from the crack at the bottom, but I didn't really acknowledge it until I grabbed the doorknob.

"_Fuck!_" I screamed, yanking my hand back from the searing metal. I turned the flashlight over and examined my hand. The skin was bright red and starting to blister. I shook it, trying to cool the painful burning sensation.

"S-sis?" My brother placed a shaking hand on my shoulder. "A-are you okay?"

"Y–" I cleared my throat. "Yeah, but don't touch the doorknob. It's hot."

"Is–"

"Shh," I interrupted him. My heart was pounding. _If the metal was hot then that meant..._ I cautiously placed my fingertips on the door. It was warm. _No..._ Taking a step back, I dropped the flashlight and blindly searched for my brother's wrist, grabbing it and turning to start back down the hallway. "We have to get outside."

"But–!"

"No! You feel this?" I yelled, slamming his hand onto the door. "The fire's in there! They're most likely dead by now!"

"But they _might_ still be alive!" he screamed, snatching his wrist out of my grasp. "We have to–"

"What?!" I grabbed his shoulder with my good hand and shook him violently. "There's nothing we can do! We have to get–!"

"Caterina?!"

My heart stopped. "Dad?" I whipped my head back toward the closed door. "Dad?!" _Oh please, oh please don't let me have been hearing things._

"Is your brother with you?" It was my mom's voice that answered. _Oh, thank God!_

"I-I'm here, Mom!"

"Caterina!" my dad called. "Sweetheart, you need to take you and your brother and go outside! Wait out there until help arrives!"

"But–!"

"Love, you can't help us!" I could hear them coughing. "Just get outside and wait for help!"

Shadows started dancing across the door and my brother and I turned around to see a wild inferno make its way up the stairs from the first floor. _What? But the fire's in their room._ It was probably a quarter of the way up, but was quickly devouring distance with every second that passed. A startling crash made us jump, and we jerked our heads around to look down the hall. The door to our dad's study was ablaze, we watched as bookshelves clattered to the floor, breaking into pieces for the fire to consume. The stench of burning wood was becoming overwhelming.

"Honey! What was that sound?! Are you two all right?!"

My brother started to cry and I wrapped my arms around him protectively. I blinked away my own tears and drew in a ragged breath. _We have to try and save them at least once. _Placing my lips by his ear, I whispered, "On the count of three help me kick down the door, okay?" He remained mute but nodded his head and wiped his nose.

"_Kids?!_"

"One." We both faced the door and position our feet against it. It was warmer than before. "Two." I reached over and grabbed my brother's collar, pulling it over his nose, waiting for him to hold it there before doing the same with mine. "Three!" We pulled back and kicked the door as hard as we could.

_Crack! _A split formed in the middle of the door, but it wasn't enough. We had to try again.

"What are you doing?!"

"Why aren't you leaving yet?! _Go!_"

"One more time, okay, bro?" I said, ignoring our parents and bumping his shoulder with mine. "This time give it all you got."

"Y-yeah." He wiped his eyes and furrowed his brows, a determined look settling in. "All I've got."

"Remember, on three." Despite the situation, a small smile tugged at my lips._ He's trying to be a man_. "Count with me."

"One." We re-positioned our feet against the door, keeping our noses covered with our shirts.

"Two." I tuned out our parents cries telling us to get out of there.

"Three!" A solid kick and the door caved in under the weight. Smoke burst from the break, blocking our vision and making us gasp for unadulterated air. Out of nowhere, a jagged flame shot up, searing the bottom of my foot.

"_Gah!_" I screeched, grabbing my foot. I lost my balance and couldn't catch myself in time before my head slammed against hardwood floor.

**.:.:.:.**

**A/N:** Do I see a Cori reunion in the nearby future...? _Maaaaybe _;)

I have a challenge for all you reviewers out there. Come up with a name for Cat's brother. I couldn't really think of one that I liked and I don't really want to keep calling him "my brother", so I thought I'd let _you_ guys decide.

Please review! It motivates me to update quicker :)


	4. Minutes

**A/N:** There isn't one :D

**.:.:.:.**

_'Soul' Continued..._

**.:.:.:.**

_Minutes_

_**.: Cat :.**_

Lips frown and pain from the memory of the fall sparks in the eyes of the girl in the mirror. She reaches up to touch the side of her forehead, where a slightly faded purple bruise rested. It surprises me, that's the first time an emotion has appeared on her face in over a week. Almost as soon as the thought crosses my mind does her face relax in a blank expression. She drops her hand back to her side, a faraway look returning to her eyes.

The ticking of the timer continues and I look to see there's only eight minutes left.

Eight minutes.

_That's how long we had to get out..._

**.:.:.:.**

I heard distant coughing mixed with ragged gasps. It all seemed so unclear, I couldn't recall anything that just happened. The throbbing pain in my head was not helping my memory any. _What's going on? _I slowly became aware of movement beneath me, but that didn't make sense, I was in my bed, sleeping. I furrowed my brows and tried to remember something. Anything.

_I was dreaming and heard a voice. Someone was shaking me. Riley. Riley was shaking me. Woke me up 'cause there was... There was... God, what was it? _I knit my brows harder, trying to conjure up what he said. _Riley said thunder woke him up. Said he saw smoke and that there was a—_

"Fire!" My eyes shot open. Everything came back to me full force and I instantly noticed my surroundings. It was hot, there was a thin layer of sweat covering my skin. Every breath I took burned and I quickly covered my nose and mouth with my shirt again, not wanting to inhale more smoke than necessary. The movement made me realize hands were gripping my armpits, dragging me backwards. "Riley?"

A grunt was my only answer. He continued to haul me back toward the stairs leading to the third floor.

"What_—_what happened?" When he didn't respond I tried twisting out of his hold. "Ri–"

"Mom and Dad are dead," his voice was monotone. Lifeless.

I stopped struggling and the silence between us stretched for what seemed like an eternity. My heart clenched and jumped to my throat, tears immediately filling my eyes. I let them come, causing everything around me to become a bright orange and black blur. They trailed down my face, clearing a path through my soot covered cheeks. _No! I never got to say goodbye! _I wailed.

When we reached the stairs Riley let go of me, dropping me unceremoniously. The back of my head impacted against the floor, but I didn't care. _Mom and Dad are dead_, the thought bounced in my mind and my chest started heaving. I felt like a ton of weight was on it, making it nearly impossible to draw in a breath. All I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry, but I knew I couldn't. Not because we were in a burning building, but because I knew I was now fully responsible for getting us out._ You have to keep Riley safe. Remember that. Mom and dad would've wanted that. _The thought seemed to spark something in me. With effort, I lifted myself from my prone position and sat up, clenching my jaw shut to stifling my cries. Finally, I blinked repeating to get everything back into focus, gazing up at to look into puffy red eyes.

"We–" My voice caught and I coughed. "We have to get outside."

"_How?_" Riley sobbed. "Look!" He pointed down the hall and I turned my head. The fire from our parents' bedroom and Dad's study was rapidly making its way out to the hallway. It had completely consumed the stairs and was gradually doubling in size. If the stairs weren't an option then we couldn't get to the first floor. Which also meant we couldn't get out the front door. And that meant—

_Oh God. We're trapped._

Panic was setting in with every second that passed with us still in the house. I'd learned in school how fast a fire could consume an entire house. We probably had eight minutes, if not less, to escape. I forced down the feeling of dread and reached up with my left hand, consciously aware of the painful blisters on my right, and grabbed Riley's arm. He hauled me up. I stepped onto the carpet covered stair, but as soon as I put pressure on my foot I fell to my knees.

"_Holy–!_" I looked down and saw blood had stained the carpet in the broken shape of a foot. "God!" _How am I suppose to get up the stairs now?_ Riley hauled me up again and I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, his went around my waist, keeping my right foot off the floor. "Help me up the stairs, Riley. Let me lean on you."

"Why?" his voice was emotionless.

"What kind of question is _that_?" I stared at him as if he'd gone insane. "Because we have to get away from the fire?! Because we have to get upstairs?! That enough reasons for you? Now let's go!" His lower lip trembled, but he complied, and we both stumbled up the stairs. It took a while for us to reach the top, but as soon as we did I tugged on his shirt, motioning him toward the library. He didn't move. "C'mon, we need to think of a plan to get out–"

"It doesn't matter."

I whipped my head around and gaped at him. "_What?!_"

"You're hurt! We're trapped! M-Mom and D-Dad are dead! It doesn't m-matter anymore!" he was screaming, adding to the chaos that already surrounded us.

"Of course it matters!" I screamed back. _Why is he being so difficult?! _"Mom and Dad wouldn't want this! They–"

Riley's next words were like a punch to the gut. "I _watched_ them die!" He started sobbing again. Uncontrollable tears streaming down his face.

The revelation made me gasp and tears pricked my own eyes. _No... Please, not Riley. Not my baby brother..._ I knew the memory was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. It was going to break him. Destroy him. Watching your parents burn to death. _My God._ I wrapped my other arm around his back and pulled him into me tightly, keeping a secure hold around his shaking form. Riley didn't hug me back and instead started to sob harder, burying his face in my neck. That's when I knew, without a doubt, he was already broken. _No... _He was never going to be the same boy he was yesterday. I screwed my eyes shut and felt a tear slip out.

"They wouldn't want us to just give up, Rye," I whispered, tightening my arms. "They would have told us to keep running. To run and never look back."

"T-they did." His sobs were starting to slow down to hiccups. "T-they also said that they l-loved us a-and made me promise to get us to safety."

I held him out at arms length and looked directly into eyes so much like mine. "Let's–" A coughing fit interrupted me. The smoke was thicker up here. "Let's keep that promise, why don't we. 'Kay?"

"Y-yeah." He rubbed his nose with the back of his hand and allowed me to firmly, but gently, wipe his tears away. "The l-library, right?" I nodded in affirmation. "Okay."

As we started moving again I peered over my shoulder down the stairs. The second floor was a raging inferno. The blazing heat made every breath painful. My heart felt heavy. There was no chance they survived. My eyes, already stinging from the smoke, began to water again. I turned my head back around and focused on our destination. _Now's not the time to mourn._

"The window," I said, when we passed through the doorway. Riley stopped abruptly, forcing me to do the same. I looked at him. "What?"

"Sis, it's a three story fall."

"I know." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not an idiot." With that, I let go of him and hopped across the hot floor and opened the window.

"Then–?"

"There's a tree right outside." I waited, allowing time for the smoke to clear out of the room. After a moment, I stuck my head outside and looked down. There was a large ball of orange and gold flames blossoming from the window directly below us. _Shit! _Despite the breeze I could clearly feel the heat radiating from it and yanked my head back inside. My face felt like it had just been inside an oven.

"_Sis–!_"

A sudden boom shook the house and we tumbled to the floor. Everything started falling around us. Photo frames shattered and one particularly large bookcase collapsed, sending it crashing through the weak floor to the room below. A fireball exploded through the hole and a wall of black smoke accompanied it. I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe. With much effort, I inhaled, coughing when my lungs rejected the foul air, and called out to my brother.

"Riley! Where are–?" A bloodcurdling scream made me freeze. _No no no no no! _"Riley?!"

"Help me! I'm on fire!" he screeched, hysteric. "Help me!"

**.:.:.:.**

**A/N:** Okay, so I wasn't planning on ending it here, but I wanted to have a chapter posted today.

Please review! Riley's life depends on it! Literally.

I can be a bitch if I wanna be. Jus' saying.


	5. Crimson

**A/N:** It's gonna get angsty! Well it _is_ one of the genres, after all...

**.:.:.:.**

_'Minutes' Continued..._

**.:.:.:.**

_Crimson_

**_.: Cat :._**

A sudden ringing makes me jump and my mind is forced out of the memory. _More like nightmare. _There's a light knock on the door, but I ignore whoever it is and reach over to silence the timer. The loud noise seems so out of place in the small bathroom, destroying the illusion of an eerie ticking, like there was a bomb hidden beneath the sink ready to explode. The person knocks again and I turn my head to look at the door, hand still on the timer, but don't make a move to open it.

"Caterina?" It's Mrs. Wilson, my neighbor—well, technically, she's not anymore—who I've been staying with. "I have a letter." She waits for a response but doesn't get one. "I think it's for you."

"Me?" Mr. Jerry had stopped dropping off mail to what was left of my house right after the _incident_. They were all addressed to—my throat tightens—_Mr. & Mrs. Valentine_.

"It says it's for a Rina Valentine. I figured that was short for Caterina." _Rina._ The name makes my heart clench. My eyes jerk to the mirror, into the eyes of the girl in front of me._ She's not Rina. She's _nothing_ like Rina._ "It's from someone named Tori. Do you know her?"

_Tori._

I want to say no. No, I don't know her. _Rina_ knows her. Not this girl who's so hollow she almost looks dead. Instead, I remove my hand from the timer and slowly open the door. Mrs. Wilson looks worried when she sees me. Her blue eyes hold compassion and I bow my head and stare at the floor. I don't want pity.

"Yeah. I knew her." I bite my lip. _Knew._ "She was a friend."

"Were you two close?" Mrs. Wilson's trying to make conversation. I have barely spoken since coming to stay with her and her husband almost three weeks ago.

"Can... Can I just have my letter, please?"

She sighs, not from annoyance, but from sorrow. Even she doesn't recognize the girl standing in front of her, despite being neighbors for years. "Of course, dear." The white envelope is placed in my hand. In reality it probably weigh less than a feather, but to me it feels like a ton.

"Thanks." I don't say anything else and a pregnant pause ensues.

"Well..." Mrs. Wilson starts to fidget and I know she feels awkward. "Your plane leaves at eight. We're heading off to the airport in a half-hour, okay?" At my nod she starts to turn away. "If you need anything, Caterina, let me know."

"Wait." I hesitate. _Do I really want to do this?_ I raise my eyes and look at her through my lashes. "Will you call me Cat?"

Her brows knit. "Cat," she says, as if to test out the name. After a moment her face softens and she smiles. "Of course, Cat. Remember, I'll be downstairs if you need me."

I close the door as Mrs. Wilson walks away. I know she thinks I'm becoming my old self again. She's wrong. Dead wrong. I'm trying to forget _that_ girl. I won't be able to cope otherwise. She holds too many bad memories.

The new me is named Cat Valentine. Not Caterina. Not Rina. Just Cat.

My hands start to shake and I remember the envelope. The letter from Tori. I drop it as if it burns me. Tori. She was the most important thing to me—the old me. Do I really want to forget about Tori? Can I handle that? What could be worse than losing a friend? _Losing a mother. Losing a father. __Losing a brother._ The thoughts are too painful and I shove them out of my head. I have to forget._ It's the only way._

I snatch up Tori's letter and throw it in the trash. _I didn't want to read about her perfect life anyway._ The sudden pain in my chest surprises me. It feels like my heart is breaking, but that doesn't make sense. It's already suppose to be broken. My hand starts to reach for the letter and I yank it back and hold it against me.

"No. You need to let go of the past, Cat," I whisper. The name feels so foreign coming from my mouth. "_Just let go_."

The ache in my chest increases, and I quickly turn back to the sink and occupy my hands by pulling off the towel that was twisted on top of my head. Crimson curls tumble down past my shoulders and frame my face. _It's a lot darker than I thought it'd be. _I pick up the flat iron and run it through my hair, permanantly getting rid of what was left of the old me—the old me with all the bad memories.

A new start. A blank slate.

Time travels by and before I know it I'm on the plane. A hand slips into mine and I look over. It's Riley. He hates flying, has ever since we moved from California. I stare at his profile. He rarely smiles now, just like me. Doesn't give any indication on what he's feeling, just like me. Even though he's here, physically, I know his spirit died in the fire with our parents. As we start down the runway he squeezes my hand, I squeeze back. We're in this together, but I know that could have easily not been the case.

_I could have lost him..._

**.:.:.:.**

"Riley!" I screamed_—oh God my lungs are _killing_ me. _I pushed myself up off the floor and onto my knees. Pain like a thousand needles erupted in the palm of my burned hand, but I bit my cheek against it. I could still hear my brother's anguish cries and that gave me the energy to fight against my suffering. "Wh-where are y-you, R-Riley?" I yelled in between coughs, blindly crawling my way toward the entrance to where I thought he was, and silently praying I didn't end up falling through the hole created by the bookcase.

"Put it out! Put _it_ out!" His voice sounded distant. I could barely hear anything over the pounding of my heart.

I held my breath—not wanting to risk passing out from too much smoke inhalation—and squinted through the thick, black veil, desperately trying to locate my brother. _Where are you, bro? _My hands were desperately feeling their way across the floor, pushing aside debris along the way. I was just beginning to get lightheaded from lack of air, and felt myself start to rock side to side, when blurry eyes zeroed in on movement near the doorway. _There! _Riley was frantically slapping at a large flame on his shirt. I had almost reached him when he turned and sprinted out the room.

"_Riley!_" I shoved myself up and chased after him, ignoring how my foot screamed with every step I took. _Running is only going to make it bigger! _He had made it across the hallway and into my bedroom before I could tackle him to the floor, using the momentum of the fall to keep us rolling until we crashed into the far wall. We both laid there gasping, the reality of what could have happened weighed heavily on our chests. "Are_..._ Are you hurt bad?"

His face was contorted in pain. "It_—_it burned me," Riley choked out, squeezing his eyes shut. He lifted his scorched shirt to reveal raw, blistered skin covering his stomach. "It hurts a lot."

I remained silent and clenched my jaw. What was I suppose to say?_ I'm sorry? It'll heal? _How're you suppose to comfort someone when you're stuck in a burning building? A sudden loud, high-pitched beeping made us flinch. _What the...? _Anger flared through me.

"_Now_ they decide to work?!" I screamed, shoving myself up onto my feet, too mad to worry about discomfort in my hand and foot. "We _know_ there's a freaking fire!" My fist slammed through the window, sharp glass slicing my knuckles and forearm. _Ow! Damn it! _I bit my tongue in frustration.

"H-how..." Riley stuttered, eyes wide, mouth agape.

Honestly, I didn't know how I managed to break it either. Probably from all the anger and adrenaline that was pumping through my veins. I tried to take a calming breath, but ended up wheezing instead. Not good. If the fire doesn't get us then the smoke definitely will.

"We don't have much time, Rye," I said through gritted teeth, trying not to use up too much air.

Riley didn't move. "We're gonna die, aren't we?" he whispered, resignation in his eyes.

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Something in me snapped.

That was the_ last_ straw.

"No." I growled, reaching down to help my brother stand up. "We're gonna _fucking_ get out of this _damn_ house." I couldn't help swearing. I was pissed. We could have _all_ gotten out if the stupid alarms had just gone off when they were suppose to.

Wild flames started to rapidly creep through the doorway, creating hateful shadows along the walls and ceiling, and devouring my door within seconds. Pink and green paint started to bubble and blacken, melting as the heat emitting from the golden inferno reached them. It was getting close to unbearable now. Sweat started pouring down our faces as Riley and I took a step back to avoid the immense heat, only to end up bumping into the wall. I felt a shaking hand slip into mine, clutching it like a lifeline.

"W-we're trapped, Sis." I could barely hear him_—_my heart was pounding too hard, the crackling of burning furniture resembled fireworks, and the roar of the blaze was deafening. I gulped but don't say anything. _He's right_. The anger I felt not five seconds ago was instantly replaced by fear. "What do we_—_what do we do?"

"We're..." I straightened my spine and set my jaw in determination_. _"We're going to jump out the window."

"_What?!_" he exclaimed, snapping his shocked eyes onto me. "It–! But–! We're on the _third_ floor!"

"We don't have a choice!" I extracted myself from his grip before quickly started clearing the glass from the window sill. "And it'll actually be almost a two story fall from my window. The patio is right underneath." With the glass cleared I limped toward my bed across the room. I hastily snatched off the sheets, promptly tying them together as tightly as I could, while going back to where Riley was still staring at me with his mouth opened. I leaned outside and let go of one end of the impromptu rope to see it fall and hang about ten feet from the patio roof. I pulled myself back inside, wrapped the blankets a few times around my hand and wrist, then sat down on the glass covered carpet, and braced my feet against the wall. "Go on, climb down."

Terrified, Riley refused to budge. "I-I'm not leaving you in here!"

My anger from earlier started to make a reappearance. "We have like three minutes to get out and you're _arguing_?!"

"But I promised Mom and Dad–!"

"That you'd keep _us_ safe! That includes you!" I yelled, glaring at him from my perch on the floor. "Now _go_!"

Riley's watery brown eyes gazed into my own for a few seconds before he sighed and dropped his head in defeat. He grabbed onto the 'rope' and climbed out the window, grunting when his blistered stomach rubbed against his rough shirt. The blankets stretch as he descended_—_I muttered under my breath, praying they wouldn't untie—and I tightened my hold, biting my lip against the pain in my right hand as I leaned back. Suddenly the weight disappeared and I fell backwards, smacking my head on the carpet. _Riley! _The hit didn't faze me and shook off the blanket and quickly got up to lean out the window, looking down to see Riley standing on the patio roof, seemingly unharmed. I exhaled in relief.

"I'm okay!" he called up. "I ran out of blanket and had to let go!"

"You could've at least _warned_ me!"

My heart was beating double time at what I was about to do. Steeling myself, I took a deep breath—choking on the polluted air—and latched onto the sides of the window. _You can do this..._ I pulled myself up onto the ledge, nearly losing my balance as my injured foot stepped on a piece of glass. _Shit! _I could feel myself shaking as I looked down at my brother. God, he looked so freaking _tiny_.

"What's are you _doing_?" Riley screeched, lifting his hands as if to catch me.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" _I-it just _looks_ higher than it is, _I told myself, _that's all..._ "I'm gonna jump!"

"_You're what?!_" His voice rose and he started flailing his arms around. "Y-you can't—you can't just_ jump_!"

"I have to! There's nothing I can tie the blankets to!" I looked behind me to double check, swallowing when I realized I was right. "Now get out of the way before I end up crushing you!"

From my perch I watched as Riley did as I said, even if his face did appear a bit apprehensive. "At least be careful!" _Be careful? Be_ careful_? I'm about to throw myself out of a three story window! How the _heck_ am I suppose to be careful?!_

"Sure, bro," I said, sounding a hundred times braver than I felt. "Of course." _Well, this is it._

I peered over my shoulder one last time, wanting to catch a final glimpse of my old room—at least what was left of it. Everything was literally being decimated by the fire that covered half the space. What use to be my door was now a large broken clump of blacken wood hanging on hinges. Embers were shooting off the conflagration and landing on whatever was near them. My dresser, my desk, my TV, my—

My entire body froze. _No... _Even the loud hammering in my chest seemed to take a pause as my eyes zeroed in on my bed—more specifically, _under_ my bed. _Stop. __You can't. You can't, you can't, you can't!_

A split second decision and I glanced back down at Riley, then released my hold of the window and jumped.

Back onto the glass covered floor.

Back into the the thick cloud of dark smoke.

"SIS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

I don't know why I did it. Maybe because what was underneath my bed was given to me by my parents. Maybe because it was what I held most dear to me. Maybe because I thought it was worth more than my own life.

_Or maybe I'm just an idiot._

**.:.:.:.**

**A/N:** Yeah... Um, well, if you think about it, that's not _really_ a cliff-hanger... And I know I basically forced you guys to wait and see if Riley died—but seriously, did you really think I was gonna kill Riley? Raise your hand if you were reading the beginning and thought that he was dead. C'mon be honest.

Please review! Next chapter is the last one before you all finally get some Cori action :] Promise!

FYI, :] is so much cuter than :) Yes, that was important.


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